Never Let Go
by TreasureHunterGirl
Summary: The sequel to Lily Potter and the Potions Professor. Find out who it was that Lily ran into at Knockturn Alley and what's next for the youngest Potter.
1. Prologue

**Never Let Go**

**A/N: This is the sequel to my fanfiction Lily Potter and the Potions Professor so if you haven't read it already please go and do that right now! Hope you enjoy this little prologue, more to come soon...**

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**Prologue**

Lily's heart hammered faster still as she recognised the person who had caught her. Draco's heart was beating equally as fast. Neither of them had felt that in over two years. They stood there for a minute simply staring at each other, their eyes boring into one another with a yearning that they hadn't realised they'd been harbouring.

It was Draco who acted first, but Lily responded almost immediately, within a split second. He grabbed her and pulled her towards him, she grabbed the front of his robes and pulled him closer to her. Their lips collided and Lily felt him push her up against the cold stone wall. She'd forgotten how right it felt to be with him.

When they finally broke apart she stared at him again, hardly able to believe that it was real.

"Lily," he whispered.

"Draco," she replied.

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**A/N: Please review. Thanks for reading.**


	2. 1 - Breaking the Promise

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 1: Breaking the Promise**

Lily ran her hand along the antique dresser in Draco's bedroom. She noticed that it was spotless; not a speck of dust was visible. She smiled at the items scattered about the gleaming surface. A quill, a comb, a small silver box, a scrunched up piece of parchment…

Apparently her ability to turn off her curiosity was limited to the location of Knockturn Alley. She picked up the crumpled paper and flattened it out. She was surprised to see her own handwriting on it and one word; Draco. Was this the piece of parchment she had hastily scrunched up when he approached her in the library that night? He'd kept it all this time and she didn't even know that he'd ever seen it. A sudden tear came to her eye; she was touched by the fact that he'd kept it but the reason for the tear was something else. Mostly it was a feeling of regret for having ever said good bye to him; for wasting the last two years.

She didn't want him to find her crying when he returned so she replaced the scrap of parchment to the dresser and took in the rest of the room. For the size of the house this room was quite small. It had his bed, the dresser, a couple of wardrobes and a desk in it and that just about filled it. This was not the room he had had growing up; it was one of the many spare rooms in the manor.

After Draco had recovered from his injuries he and Scorpius had returned to Draco's parents' house to live. As both his parents were getting older they wanted to spend more time with their son and grandson. The manor was more than large enough for them all and since Draco had lost his job it was a good arrangement for everyone.

Lily walked over to the window and looked out. She saw a white peacock strut past down in the yard with its head held high and was reminded of the portrait of Lucius Malfoy that she'd seen in the corridor on her way to Draco's room. She had not met his parents yet. They were not home at the moment and neither was Scorpius.

She reached out and touched the black velvet drapes that hung at the window. Everything in this house cried out a belief in pureblood superiority, even these curtains, but it didn't bother Lily. She accepted Draco and his family for who they were, she'd always accepted others as they were even when they hadn't been able to accept her in return. The train of thought brought her to Rose. She had mended the rift between them two years ago but like anything that had once been broken it was never the same again. In fact, nothing had ever gone back to the way it was before Draco Malfoy had entered Lily's life. Her family and friends had all gotten over it because they thought she had but nothing was ever the same again. She often found one of them watching her in a concerned way and then quickly looking away when she saw them. It was a price she'd paid. But for what? She had to put up with the looks, the questions and the meaningless reassurances that she'd done the right thing but what had she gotten out of it? Nothing. Nothing but a broken heart and a family that would never truly trust her again. She felt another tear coming to her eye and fought it back. This was something that she'd gotten quite good at. She hadn't cried a single tear in front of her family since the day her mother and father had asked her to choose between them and him. They'd told her to make the choice because she couldn't have both.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked softly as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

Lily hadn't heard him re-enter the room but didn't jump at his touch. She closed her eyes and took in the moment. Nothing had ever felt this right.

"Yeah," she replied in almost a whisper.

She turned around to face him. Their eyes connected and the tears she been fighting finally leaked from her eyes.

Draco put his hand to her cheek and wiped them away.

"I'm sorry," she sighed. "I don't even know why…"

"Shh," he said before kissing her on the cheek.

At this the tears began to fall thick and fast and there was nothing Lily could do to stop them. After all this time she had to just let them out. Draco didn't say a word, he just held her until they ceased and her eyes were dry again.

**A/N: Thanks for reading, please review.**


	3. 2 - Stay with Me

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 2: Stay with Me**

"It's getting late," commented Lily, looking out the window at the growing darkness.

Draco also looked towards the window, glancing at her as he did so. It was only a quick glance but in that second he saw all the things in her that he'd missed so much and only then did he realise how lonely he'd become. It wasn't just her beautiful long red hair, her sparkling blue eyes and her fair skin that blushed so easily. It was her kind smile, her searching gaze and her soft but sincere voice. Most of all it was her acceptance.

"I suppose I should get going…" she said after a short silence in which Draco had slipped into his reverie.

"I don't want you to go," he said suddenly.

Lily looked up at him from where she sat on the edge of his bed. They shared an intense gaze which was mutually understood.

"I don't want to go," whispered Lily as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.

Draco went and sat down next to her. Did she really mean it? He'd waited so long for this. Admittedly he'd _wanted_ this for a long time.

"Are you sure?" he asked despite his own desires.

"Yes," she answered without hesitation.

**XXX**

When Lily woke the next morning she took a moment to remember where she was. Turning her head on her pillow she saw Draco still sleeping next to her and allowed herself a small smile. Only in sleep did he look this peaceful. As she watched him thoughtfully he began to stir and finally opened his eyes. He found her looking at him and smiled.

"Morning," she said quietly as she moved closer to him and he put an arm around her.

Absentmindedly she touched the arm that rested on her and felt him flinch as her fingers found the Mark on his skin. He withdrew his arm and held it up for them both to look at. Lily's eyes were fixed on it. She had never been able to look at it for this long before. It was quite faint now and looked more like a scar than anything else. Lily had seen pictures in her Defense Against the Dark Arts and History of Magic books of what the Dark Mark looked like when Voldemort had been in power. This was nothing like that although it was still quite noticeable, hence the reason why Draco always wore long sleeves.

When Lily finally took her eyes of it and looked at Draco he was quietly contemplating it, a look of mild disgust on his face. She reached out and gently pushed his arm down so that the Mark was out of sight.

"What time is it?" Lily asked in order to distract him.

"Seven," he replied after a glance at the clock on his bedside table.

"Oh Merlin!" cried Lily. "Seven already? I've got to get out of here!"

"What?" asked Draco caught by surprise.

"My parents will be wondering where I am," she said as she got up and started gathering her things. "What will I tell them? Oh, what if _your_ parents are up, what will I say to them? I don't really want to meet them for the first time while I'm doing the walk of shame..."

Draco had gotten up and walked over to Lily who was racing around the room like a Cornish Pixie on Pep-Me-Up Potion. He grabbed her gently as she paced past him and put his hand to her mouth, silencing her mid-rant.

"My parents are old," he said calmly. "They won't be up yet."

Lily let out a stifled sigh of relief and Draco removed his hand. She looked at his still bare chest and remembered the time she had let slip that she'd seen it to her father. What on earth was she going to tell her parents?

"Tell them you were at a friend's place," suggested Draco when Lily repeated her concern.

She looked at him incredulously, "I don't have any friends," she said. "Well at least not any that it wouldn't sound weird if I claimed to have stayed at their house." She thought of Neville and Hagrid but then Teddy popped into her head.

"Then don't go home," said Draco with hope. "Stay here with me."

The offer was very tempting.

"It'll make them suspicious," she said. "Well they're already suspicious of everything I do. I think I'll go to Teddy and Victoire's place. They'll cover for me."

"Teddy Lupin? Do you think that's wise?" asked Draco, unable to mask his apprehension.

"Teddy will cover for me, no questions asked," said Lily confidently.

"Well if you think you can trust them," muttered Draco.

"I know I can," said Lily.

Before Draco could say another word she kissed him and smiled; "I have to go now."

"Alright," he replied somewhat sulkily before adding; "If you'd like to meet my parents properly why don't you come and have dinner with us one night?"

Lily beamed; "You really want me to?" she asked.

"Of course," he replied with a smirk.

"Okay, that'd be great," she said still evidently very pleased by his offer.

"I'll let you know when," he said as he opened the door for her and peered out. "Looks like the coast is clear."

Lily grinned and exited the room. She headed left, trying to remember the way out.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" came the unmistakably amused voice of Scorpius Malfoy.

_Shit!_ thought Lily as she felt her face redden.

"Lily Potter," he said as she turned to find him standing in the doorway of what she could only assume was his bedroom.

"Hello Scorpius," she replied.

Scorpius laughed and turned his head to look up the hallway that Lily had just come down. His eyes moved to look at her first before he actually turned his head back to face her, as he did so the laugh disappeared from his face.

"Early morning visit," he said.

Lily simply looked at him. What did he want her to say?

"Or maybe not," he muttered. Was he talking to her or himself?

"I have to get going," said Lily awkwardly.

"Don't let me keep you," replied Scorpius. "And as usual, your secret is safe with me." He laughed again before retreating into his room and closing the door.

Lily stood there for a moment staring at the door before deciding it was definitely time for her to go.

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**A/N: Yay! It's Scorpius! and yes it was a fade to black, rated T for themes not scenes :D**


	4. 3 - A Confidence in Teddy

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 3: A Confidence in Teddy**

_Knock. Knock._

Teddy Lupin was sitting at the kitchen table eating his bacon and eggs when he heard the knock at the door. He wasn't expecting anyone, he got up and answered the door.

"Hi Lily," he said with a smile. "What's going on?"

"Hi Teddy," she replied. "I need a favour."

Teddy raised his eyebrows.

"Come in," he said opening the door wider to let her in.

"Thanks."

"So what can I do for you?" Teddy asked as he led the way back into the kitchen.

"Oh hello Lily," said Victoire who had just walked into the kitchen herself.

"Hi," replied Lily pleasantly.

"What are you doing here?" asked Victoire rubbing her eyes. She had clearly only just woken up.

"I was in the neighbourhood and thought I'd just pop in," invented Lily, not eager to tell her cousin why she was really there.

Teddy frowned but didn't say anything.

"Okay well I think I might go jump in the shower to try to wake myself up," said Victoire completely unaware of Lily's evasion. "Make yourself at home, you can have some breakfast if you haven't already."

At this she retreated back out of the kitchen leaving Lily and Teddy alone.

"So what's really going on?" he asked as soon as they heard the bathroom door shut.

"I need you to cover for me," said Lily quickly. "I need you to say that I stayed here last night."

Teddy raised his eyebrows again.

"Why? Where have you been?" he asked.

Lily looked away, undecided as to whether or not she should tell him about Draco. She had to be very careful about who she told.

"Lily," pressed Teddy. "Is everything okay?"

Teddy was starting to worry. Lily was acting very strangely and for some reason she didn't want Victoire to know what she was doing there at 8 o'clock on a Saturday morning. Because of this he suspected it was something that she didn't want her family to know about. She had been spending a lot of time skulking around Knockturn Alley these days. Had she gotten herself into trouble?

"Everything is fine," replied Lily still not looking at him. "Please, if anyone asks just tell them I was here last night."

"I will," said Teddy pausing for a moment. "But I don't feel right about it. Not unless I know why."

Lily sighed. Teddy always had a way of getting things out of her by making her feel guilty.

"Okay, I'll tell you where I was but you have to promise me that you won't tell anyone," she said looking at him. "Especially not my parents."

"Okay," agreed Teddy unsurely.

"You promise?" repeated Lily.

"I promise," he reaffirmed.

"There's no easy way to say this," said Lily. "So I'm just going to say it straight out. I was with Draco Malfoy."

Teddy stared blankly at her for about a minute without speaking.

"What?" he cried out finally. "Malfoy? Lily, are you mad?"

Lily leaned her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands.

"I knew you'd react this way," she said a little angrily. "Oh why did I tell you?"

"You think I'm bad?" said Teddy lowering his voice to a loud and urgent whisper. "How do you think Harry is going to react?"

"He's not," Lily said quickly. "You promised you wouldn't say a word."

"But..." started Teddy.

"No buts Teddy!" cut in Lily desperately. "You promised me. Please don't say anything."

Teddy opened his mouth to retort but stopped. It was true he had promised her, he couldn't go back on his word now.

"How long has this been going on?" he asked deciding to take a different angle.

"I only ran into him yesterday," said Lily. "It's the first time I've seen him since..."

Lily didn't continue her sentence but just looked down at her hands instead. She was at a bit of a loss as to where to go from here.

"Okay," sighed Teddy. "I won't say anything to anyone."

"Oh thank you Teddy," said Lily looking up. "Thank you so much. I knew I could count on you."

"Are you planning on seeing him again?" asked Teddy. He didn't really want to hear her answer but he had to ask.

She glanced away and that was answer enough.

"I just hope you know what you're doing," said Teddy a little exasperated. "You know how it ended last time."

"I know," said Lily shortly. "I don't need reminding."

"Alright then," sighed Teddy. "If you've made your decision then that's that but we'll need to get our story straight."

Lily smiled.

"Thanks Teddy," she said sincerely.

He returned her smile but could shake the foreboding feeling that had settled in him; things were only going to get worse from here on in.


	5. 4 - Meet the Malfoys

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 4: Meet the Malfoys**

Draco had reached the door into the dining room before Lily and was waiting for her. She moved forward slowly and could feel her heart beat quicken uncomfortably. Tonight she would be meeting his parents, Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Tonight she would be judged and questioned and for once she was nervous about that. She wanted more than anything to be with Draco and she knew that if his parents accepted her it would be a lot easier.

He held out his hand for her to take and she merely looked at it. Then, inhaling a deep breath, she took it and felt a gentle reassuring squeeze.

"You'll be fine," he whispered before opening the door.

Lily heard the soft conversation of Draco's parents at the other end of the room. They were sitting at the far end of a long table and looked up as she and Draco approached them. Lily was not surprised to see that Draco and Scorpius had clearly inherited their looks from Lucius. She had seen a picture of him but the flesh resemblance was much stronger. His mother also had blonde hair which although in the early stages of going grey did not make her look as old as her husband. He seemed to have aged worse than her but they both looked quite good for their advancing years. Both carried an air of pride that seemed to Lily to have been almost extinguished but was still just holding on.

"Mother, Father," said Draco addressing them both when he and Lily had reached them. "I want you to meet someone. This is Lily."

They exchanged a glance before they both stood up, Narcissa reached out first to shake Lily's hand.

"Pleased to meet you, Lily," she said politely.

"Lily Potter," said Lucius uneasily but shook her hand anyway.

"It's lovely to meet you both," said Lily nervously.

"Please sit down," said Narcissa to both Draco and Lily and they all took their seats.

"This is a lovely home you have," commented Lily in an attempt to make light but agreeable conversation.

"Thank you," replied Narcissa in her cold voice.

They all sat there for a moment in silence in which Lily had the mad idea to just apparate and never come back again.

"How old are you?" asked Lucius quite suddenly looking at Lily.

"Father," hissed Draco looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude," said Lucius although he seemed to still expect an answer.

"I'm eighteen," supplied Lily awkwardly.

"Really," said Lucius in a genuinely interested tone before repeating; "Eighteen."

He glanced at his son who was staring uncomfortably at his mother.

"Shall we eat now," she asked and everyone indicated at once that that was a good idea.

A small house elf served out the food and they began to eat in silence.

Draco's silence was getting at Lily the most. This was his idea, why wasn't he making conversation?

"So what do you do Lily?" asked Narcissa.

"Oh, I, at the moment," struggled Lily. "Well I've just graduated from Hogwarts."

At this Lucius' hand seemed to have slipped and his fork hit a small potato on his plate. In a clatter of cutlery it was sent flying down the table, gravy splattering on the wooden surface in its wake.

Everyone stopped and watched it.

"Where is that elf?" muttered Lucius in a half-annoyed, half-mortified tone.

A second later the house elf appeared out of thin air and, standing on one of the empty chairs, began cleaning up the mess, humming cheerfully as it did so.

Lucius cleared his throat and looked at Lily; "I'm sorry, please go on."

Lily blinked several times in rapid succession trying to think of what else to say.

"How did you go in your NEWTs then?" asked Narcissa trying to carry on the conversation as though nothing had happened.

"Oh I did quite well," said Lily relieved to finally be able to talk about something for more than one sentence. "I received an Outstanding in Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. I also got Exceeds Expectations in Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. I only got Acceptable in Transfiguration."

"That's wonderful, surely those marks have given you many options," said Narcissa with a little too much enthusiasm.

"Yeah, I'm sure they have," said Lily without much confidence. "Honestly though I haven't really looked into it. I _was _planning on spending a year in Romania to do some work with dragons."

"And will you still be doing that?" asked Lucius noticing her tone.

"I," said Lily glancing at Draco who was looking at his food. "I'm not sure."

"Ah," said Lucius now looking down at his own food and not hiding the hint of disappointment in his voice. Perhaps he'd been hoping that she would be going away...away from Draco.

"Well there's still plenty of time to decide," said Draco finally speaking.

The other three muttered that that was true and another silence followed, broken only by the sound of eating.

"So where's Scorpius?" asked Lily, again trying to make conversation.

Narcissa looked at the clock.

"Oh he'll be home soon," said Lucius. "He works late."

"Oh where does he work?" asked Lily with interest. She had wondered what Scorpius had gone on to do since leaving Hogwarts. Her brief encounter with him had not revealed much.

"He's studying under Ollivander," said Draco as the other two exchanged an uncomfortable glance. "To become a Wandmaker. Ollivander's getting quite old and he needed an apprentice, someone to pass on his knowledge to. I think that he may have left it a bit late however, it takes many years to become a Wandmaker."

The depressing end to Draco's statement left them all in silence again.

When they had finally gotten through their meal, Draco stood up.

"Lily needs to be getting home," he said very formally. "Thank you for company this evening."

"Thanks, it was nice meeting you," said Lily as Draco took her hand and led her out of the room.

Once the door closed behind them they both let out a sigh of relief.

"I think that went reasonably well," said Lily hopefully. She desperately wanted to know what Draco thought about the reaction of his parents.

"Yes, it did," he said avoiding her gaze.

"Oh no, it went terrible didn't it?" she said miserably.

"Not terrible," said Draco. "Just..."

Lily looked at him incredulously with her eyebrows raised, waiting for him to finish.

"Just..." he repeated.

"Terrible," Lily finished.

"Well," said Draco as a smirk crept onto his face. "Yeah, it was pretty terrible."

Lily tried not to smile too but it got the better of her and they both burst out laughing.


	6. 5 - Teddy's Advice

**Never Let Go**

**A/N: Hey everyone, so sorry about the lack of updates. Thanks for all the reviews/reads the story has been getting :) Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

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**Chapter 5: Teddy's Advice**

Lily was sitting alone in the living room at home pondering her situation. She knew how her family had reacted last time and she knew that nothing had changed since then, at least not for them. She wasn't going to give Draco up again but she didn't want to lose her family either. She wished that they could all just put their differences aside.

"Hey, Lily," said Teddy sitting down beside her.

She hadn't even known he was there.

"Hi, Teddy," she replied half-heartedly.

He watched her for a moment; she didn't look at him but could feel his eyes on her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She finally looked up and was surprised to find him sporting white blonde hair and grey eyes.

He laughed at the look on her face before changing his hair to black and his eyes to bright green.

"Stop that," she said a little annoyed.

"Sorry," he said still laughing. "Seriously, is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything's fine," she said, again not looking at him.

"Lily," he said and she saw out of the corner of her eye his hair returning to its usual turquoise. "You know what I'm talking about."

"You're not going to tell mum and dad are you?" she asked anxiously, suddenly afraid that he was planning to.

"Of course not," replied Teddy indignantly. "What do you take me for?"

"Not an adult that's for sure," replied Lily laughing.

"Hey!" said Teddy grabbing one of the cushions and whacking Lily with it. "I can tell them if you want me to!"

Lily struggled against the cushion before saying; "No, don't!"

"I was just joking," said Teddy sobered by her abrupt return to seriousness.

"I know," sighed Lily. After a long pause she said; "Oh what am I going to do?"

Teddy pondered her question for a moment.

"They say honesty is the best policy," he hinted.

"Not in this case," replied Lily. "Trust me."

"I do trust you Lily," he said sincerely. "That's why I don't have a problem with it."

Lily looked at him and suddenly felt very grateful.

"Don't get me wrong, I worry about you but that's more because of him than you. I trust that you know your own heart Lily. I just hope he knows his."

She thought about this. Ordinarily she would've been angered by the fact that someone else was judging Draco but she herself had worried about the same thing. She had wondered what he was doing with her and how long it would last.

"However," Teddy continued. "My advice would be to tell your parents before they get suspicious. You can take it or leave it."

Lily nodded as Teddy got up and headed for the door.

"Thanks," she called across the room.

"No problem," he replied before grinning broadly, changing his hair to white blonde again and darting out of the room.

Lily smiled to herself as she heard her cousin Victoire's voice from outside the door.

"What are you doing, Teddy?"

"Don't you like it?" he returned in an amused tone. "I was thinking of keeping it like this."

She laughed, a little nervously, before saying; "Come on, dinner's ready. Where's Lily?"

Lily got up and went over to the door.

"Here," she said.

When Lily, Teddy and Victoire got to the table everyone else was already seated. It was just an ordinary Saturday night but there was a large group there; Ron, Hermione, Rose, Hugo, Harry, Ginny, James, Violet Wood (James' girlfriend) and Albus.

The three that had just entered took their seats. Lily sat down between Hugo and Harry, who was at the head of the table. Teddy sat directly opposite Lily on Harry's other side and Victoire next to him.

Everyone chatted loudly and for a moment Lily was reminded of sitting at Gryffindor table in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. More than once she heard James and Violet talking enthusiastically about Quidditch and this only strengthened the nostalgic feeling she was experiencing.

The food was eaten long ago and the dishes cleared away but they all remained at the table talking, some sipping Butterbeer or Firewhiskey. Teddy, who had had a number of drinks was slouching in his chair and looking at Lily from across the table. He smiled playfully and turned his hair white blonde again and his eyes to grey.

Lily went to kick him under the table but accidently hit her father instead.

"Ow!" Harry cried indignantly. "Lily, what was that for?"

Unable to contain himself, Teddy burst out laughing while Lily apologised to her father, all the while attempting to signal wordlessly to Teddy to change back to his usual appearance.

Harry, whose leg wasn't really hurting anymore, noticed Teddy's adopted look and frowned.

"What's going on?" he asked immediately.

The whole table went silent except for Teddy who was still laughing; apparently he hadn't noticed the change in atmosphere.

Victoire nudged him as Harry rounded on Lily.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked.

"What?" Lily squeaked. She didn't want to go through this again and not now, in front of everyone.

Teddy had finally stopped his giggles and was sitting quite still, his pale hair and eyes remaining as they were.

"Why does Teddy look like _Malfoy_?" demanded Harry glaring at Lily.

The name Malfoy had barely been mentioned in that house for two years.

"I don't know," she said angrily. "Why don't you ask him?"

Everyone was sitting in silence, not moving a muscle, their eyes glued to Harry and Lily.

Lily could feel their eyes pressing in on her but she didn't look at any of them.

"Harry," said Ginny in a soothing manner. "Maybe this could wait until..."

At the sound of his wife's voice, Harry's seething glare softened and he seemed to regain control of himself.

"I'm sorry," he apologised in general.

Teddy was still sitting quietly in his chair, his appearance still ridiculously like Malfoy. He seemed to notice this at the same time as Lily and suddenly changed to light brown hair and eyes.

"Excuse me," said Lily standing up abruptly and not looking at any of them. "I'm going to bed."

She crossed the room and felt every set of eyes follow her until she was through the door and out of sight.

She heard a chair scraping indicating that someone else had risen.

"I'm sorry Harry," said Teddy. "I was just joking around. I'll go and see if she's okay."

Lily heard his footsteps and quickly darted up the stairs to her bedroom, locking the door behind her.

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**A/N: Thanks again for reading, please review.**


	7. 6 - Don't Leave

**Never Let Go**

**A/N: Warning! Very short chapter but there will be more coming soon :)**

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**Chapter 6: Don't Leave**

Lily and Draco were sitting on an outdoor bench in the backyard of Malfoy Manor. One of the pure white peacocks strutted past singing its unusual song.

"I want to ask you something," said Lily after a moment in which they had both fallen silent.

"What is it?" asked Draco still watching the peacock.

"I'm supposed to be leaving to go to Romania at the start of September," she went on.

"Oh," said Draco in a disappointed tone.

"I'll stay if you want me to," she said after another pause.

"You'll stay," repeated Draco. "If I want you to."

"Yes," nodded Lily.

"Do you even have to ask?" said Draco smiling. "Of course I want you to stay." He then turned to face her and grabbed her hand in his. "I didn't want you to leave in the first place Lily."

His words were sincere and the look in his eyes told her that he was speaking the truth. She suddenly couldn't believe that she'd ever thought that he didn't want her to stay.

"Then I suppose I should write Charlie a letter," she said with a smile.

Draco returned her smile and leant forward to kiss her.

"How very touching this is," said Scorpius causing Draco to stop and pull back.

"Scorpius," said Draco calmly. "I didn't know you were there."

"Obviously," replied Scorpius as his eyes moved to rest on Lily.

"Hello Scorpius," she said feeling uncomfortable. She still felt a little weird about Scorpius seeing her with Draco.

"Potter," he said in acknowledgement before looking back at his father.

"Did you need something?" asked Draco maintaining his calm tone.

"I need to speak to you," he said in a much more serious tone. "Alone."

Lily saw Draco glance at her out of the corner of his eye. Were they hiding something or was Scorpius just playing his usual games?

"I have to go now anyway," she said deciding not to play into his hands.

Draco and Lily both stood up and she kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said before adding. "Good bye Scorpius."

**XXX**

_Dear Charlie,_

_I'm sorry about the short notice but something unforeseen has come up. I cannot miss the opportunity and therefore will not be able to make it to Romania as early as I had hoped. I will need to put the trip off indefinitely and will let you know as soon as I am able to. I apologise again and want you to know that I am still very excited about coming to work with you and the dragons. I hope you are well._

_Lily_

Charlie reread the ambiguous letter from his niece and looked up from it to think. What could have come up to prevent her coming to the dragons that she loved so much and why didn't she say what it was? A dark look formed on his fair face, there was more to Lily's letter than was written there and he didn't like the foreboding feeling that it was inducing in his mind.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to leave a review, it will encourage me to continue posting chapters ;)**


	8. 7 - Meet the Potters

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 7: Meet the Potters**

"I want you to come and see my family," said Lily quietly and not looking at Draco.

She knew he wouldn't want to and knew how hard it would be for him. He didn't answer her for a long time.

"Do you _really_ want me to?" he finally asked.

"Yes," she said, now looking at him.

"Well I can tell you now that it's not going to be pretty but if that's what you want..." he trailed off, perhaps wanting Lily to suddenly change her mind and interrupt him. She didn't.

"If we're going to be together they'll have to find out eventually. Why not sooner rather than later?" said Lily. "They already suspect something anyway."

"Why? How? What did you say?" asked Draco quickly.

"Nothing," replied Lily defensively, before mumbling. "It was just something Teddy did."

"Teddy?" asked Draco.

"Yeah, Teddy Lupin," explained Lily. "You know he's a Metamorphmagus, well, he knows about us and, don't worry he didn't tell anyone," she added at the look of concern on Draco's face. "Anyway he was making his hair and eyes like yours and well Dad saw him and now he suspects something, I know he does."

"Hmm, in that case," said Draco pondering this new revelation. "Perhaps _you_ should tell them. You know what happened last time."

Lily frowned, she was starting to lose her patience.

"Perhaps _we_ should tell them _together_," she hinted.

Draco let out a sigh; "Alright," he said. "When do you want to do this?"

"Well now's a good a time as any," said Lily, striking while the iron was hot. "It's the weekend so everyone will be home, in fact, now is the perfect time."

"I don't think any time is the perfect time," replied Draco as a smirk crept onto his face. "But if you think it's best."

He then pulled her into a hug and kissed her.

"Wish me luck," he said looking down at her.

"I think we'll both need a bit of luck," she replied.

**XXX**

Lily took Draco's hand and turned on the spot disapparating the both of them. A moment later they were standing out the front of her house in Godric's Hollow.

"Your humble abode," commented Draco sarcastically, looking up at the house.

"Like you can talk," said Lily elbowing him and grinning. "_Malfoy Manor_."

As she looked up at the place she called home she couldn't help but admit that he had a point. The house was a little extravagant but being Harry Potter had to have some perks, didn't it?

Lily felt Draco's grip tighten on her hand as she tried to walk forwards.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," he said, not moving.

"Come on," she said gently as she kissed him on the cheek.

He gave in and they approached the door. Lily reached out to open it but Draco suddenly grabbed her arm, stopping her.

"Wait," he said anxiously.

She waited. He just stood there.

"Oh, come on," she said finally. "You'll be fine."

He looked at her incredulously.

"I'm sure they'll love you," she joked although Draco didn't laugh.

He was still holding onto her wrist, stopping her from opening the door.

"Well, it's not them who has to love you is it?" said Lily. "I'm the only one who has to and I already do so let's go."

He managed a small and uncertain smile.

Lily couldn't help but feel sorry for him, he was doing this for her. She reached up and grabbed the front of his robes, pulling him down into a kiss and just as their lips met the front door swung open.

"Lily! What are you..."

Harry dropped the hissing cat that he was holding and it shot back into the house leaving a trail of matted fur balls and loose hairs in its wake.

Lily let go of Draco's robes and felt him pull away from her.

Harry exploded.

"MALFOY!" he bellowed before springing on him, much resembling the cat that he'd been holding only seconds before.

Draco was taken by surprise and when Harry collided with him they both toppled over into the garden.

Lily, thinking she was safe, started to yell; "Stop..." but the bottom of her robes got tangled up with the brawling men and she fell over as well.

As Harry and Draco rolled around in the garden throwing punches at each other, neither had had time to get their wands, Lily pulled herself free and took out her own wand.

"Dad! Draco!" she attempted to stop them but when neither took an ounce of notice she raised her wand and roared; "Stupefy!"

As the spell hit them both, Ginny came running to the door.

"Lily!" she cried. "What on earth...?"

But she didn't finish her question, as she spotted Harry and Draco lying in the garden, both unconscious.

"I had to do something," blurted Lily to no one in particular.

"What is going on?" asked her mother as she ran to Harry's side.

"They were attacking each other like muggles," said Lily. "I didn't know how to stop them."

"What is _he_ doing here?" asked Ginny pointing at Draco.

Lily opened her mouth to answer just as Albus, James and Violet came running through the door.

Albus' eyes did a quick sweep of the scene and then looked at Lily.

She cursed his eyes that were identical to their father's and the disappointment and understanding that they harboured.

James burst out laughing and Violet had a confused look on her face.

"What's going on?" James finally managed to say.

"James," hissed Ginny. "This isn't funny! Help me get your father inside."

Sobering quite quickly James pulled out his wand and with a rapid swish levitated his father up into the air and through the door into the house. Ginny followed him and so did Violet.

Lily felt tears coming to her eyes. So much had already gone so wrong. She moved over to where Draco was lying crumpled and unconscious. As she knelt down beside him she saw a shadow pass over his body and realised that Albus had also approached.

He knelt down beside her and pulled out his wand. Lily made a movement to stop him but he looked at her and when their eyes connected he spoke.

"I'm sorry Lily," he said quietly.

Lily didn't know what he meant. What was he apologising for?

"Rennervate," he said pointing his wand at Draco who immediately began to stir.

Albus stood up and disappeared back into the house with Lily watching him the whole time.

"That went well," said Draco groggily.

Lily looked around and saw him sitting upright, a small amount of blood was trickling from his mouth and down his chin.

"I'm sorry," she sighed before wiping the blood from his face.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading again. Please review and let me know your thoughts...**


	9. 8 - Sneaking Around

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 8: Sneaking Around**

"Are you sure no one will be home?" asked Draco apprehensively as he sub-consciously touched his still slightly swollen lip.

"Don't worry about it," said Lily. "Dad's at work, Mum and James are at a Quidditch conference and Albus is... well I don't actually remember where Albus said he would be but I know it's not here."

"That's comforting," muttered Draco under his breath but he followed her all the same.

When they were inside the house, Lily led him straight up the stairs and to her room; just in case Albus was at home. She closed the door behind them.

"This is nice," said Draco looking around awkwardly. He was strongly reminded of how young Lily was.

She raised her eyebrows but said nothing as she continued to catch Pygmy Puffs out of a cage and put them into another one. She bred them and gave them to her Uncle George to sell at his joke shops.

"Could you hurry it up a bit," urged Draco as he cast an uncertain look at the closed door.

"Just a minute," said Lily as her hand pursued a particularly evasive Puff. "You could help me you know."

"I'm not touching them," said Draco looking mildly disgusted.

"They're cute," argued Lily stroking one fondly.

"Exactly," replied Draco.

Lily laughed and Draco looked a little annoyed but she didn't mind, he always acted like this when he was worried about getting caught.

Just as Lily had caught the last of the Pygmy Puffs and picked up the carry cage she thought she saw something out the window in the front yard. When she went over to the window to check, there was nothing there so she dismissed it and went to the door. She opened it and had taken one step out when she heard her father's voice and footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Lily, Albus, are you here?"

"Shit! It's dad," she said quickly retreating into the bedroom.

Draco, however had been right behind her and she knocked into him. He caught her and smiled as he shut the door behind her.

"You're lucky I'm always here to catch you," he said.

"Shh," whispered Lily surprised by his sudden boldness. "He's just out there."

Draco fell silent but was still smirking, his hand was still resting on the door behind Lily.

"Kiss me," he whispered.

Lily frowned.

"What?" she asked.

"Kiss me," he repeated.

Then without waiting for the confused frown to leave her face he leant down and kissed her on the mouth.

"Lily, are you in there?" came Harry's voice from directly the other side of the door.

Lily pushed a still smirking Draco away from her and into a closet.

"Just a second Dad," she called.

"I feel like a teenager," said Draco.

"Well technically I still am one you know," replied Lily with a smile before closing the door in his face.

She opened the door to her room.

"Hi, what are you doing home?" she asked.

"I forgot some paperwork, what are you doing?" he said with a slight tone of suspicion.

"Just picking up some Pygmy Puffs to take into Uncle George," she said holding up the cage full of pink balls of fluff.

Harry's expression relaxed and he even managed a smile.

"You certainly are your mother's daughter," he said.

Lily smiled and could tell that there was something else he wanted to say.

After a moment he spoke again; "I'm sorry about the other night."

Lily was so shocked that she almost fell over.

"Sorry?" she managed to say.

"Yes," said Harry. "I over reacted. I just wasn't expecting it."

"It's okay Dad," said Lily. "I should have told you, I'm sorry too."

Harry smiled but it did not reach his eyes; it was a sad smile. Lily felt a pang of guilt.

"Well I had better get those papers and head back to work," he said and off he went.

Lily let out a sigh of relief and wondered if her father thought that this was the end of it. Did he think that it was that simple? She takes Draco to their house, he punches Draco in the mouth, he apologises, she apologises and we never have to worry about Draco Malfoy again. If that was what he thought he was very much mistaken.

"Come out, come out wherever you are," called Lily once she'd heard the front door close.

Draco emerged from the closet and he was no longer smiling.

"Why should you apologise?" he asked sulkily.

"To keep the peace," replied Lily simply. "Now come on, let's go."


	10. 9 - A Decision

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 9: A Decision**

When Lily arrived home later that afternoon, she found her mother and father sitting at the kitchen table, with an open letter in front of them and a heavy atmosphere surrounding them. They had been waiting for her.

"Lily," said Ginny. "Would you please sit down?"

Lily pulled one of the chairs out and it scraped along the wooden floor loudly cutting into the silence that has fallen, she sat and pulled the chair in with the same loud scraping noise.

"What's up?" she asked casually in an attempt to lighten the suffocating mood.

The suspense had obviously proved too much for Harry.

"Why aren't you going to Romania anymore?" he demanded.

"Harry!" scolded Ginny.

Lily had suspected that this would be the subject of the interrogation.

"Sorry," apologised Harry. "What I mean is, your mother and I received this letter from Charlie informing us that you are not going to Romania. You can imagine our surprise considering you've never mentioned this to us and it's all you've ever wanted to do."

"Exactly," replied Lily skimming over his first point and fixing on the second. "That's all I ever thought I wanted to do. Maybe I want something else now, now that I'm older."

"Or someone," muttered Harry grumpily.

Ginny gave him a stern look.

"That's fine Lily," she said. "Fine if it's the truth."

Lily opened her mouth to retort but Ginny carried on.

"We just don't want you to throw away your dreams for the sake of Malfoy..."

She just came out and said it. A silence followed and if Lily had thought that the tension was heavy when she'd arrived it was nothing compared to this.

"I'm not throwing my dreams away," said Lily finally.

She wasn't angry, in fact she felt terribly guilty.

"It is true what I said before. Sure, once upon a time all I thought about was going to work with the dragons but I've grown up and I want more than just that, I want..."

She trailed off; the guilt that her parents had somehow made her feel rose up within her, silencing what she really wanted to say.

"What?" asked Harry almost calmly. "A life with _him_? Do you really think that would work?"

"He's over twice your age Lily, he has a son who is older than you, not to mention a history as a Death Eater," Ginny said calmly but with brutal honesty.

"I see what you're saying," said Lily after a pause. "But people can change, he's not a Death Eater anymore and he's sorry he ever was. Will it work? I don't know, but I'm not giving up before I even give it a chance." _You want to play the calm and reasonable card well so can I_, she thought to herself as they stared at her, apparently lost for words.

There was another pause; everyone was choosing their words very carefully, like they were walking on extremely thin ice or tiptoeing through broken glass.

"You're definitely not going to Romania then?" huffed Harry, unable to hide his irritation completely.

"No, not now," replied Lily.

"That's your final decision?" asked Ginny.

"Yes."

"Ok," said Harry. "But if you aren't doing that then you're going to get a job. I can see what's available at the Ministry, get you in the magical creatures department or something like that."

_And keep a close eye on me? _ "Thanks but I'd really like to try getting work myself first. I wouldn't want anyone to think I was getting special treatment because I'm Harry Potter's daughter," said Lily coolly.

Harry gritted his teeth at her obstinacy but only said; "Right, of course..."

Lil looked awkwardly between her parents, being the apparent winner should have felt better.

"That's settled then," she said, standing up.

"I suppose it is," sighed Harry.

"I'll check the Prophet for positions vacant then," Lily said as she started to head off but turned back to face them. "Thanks. Both of you. Your support in this means a lot."

Then she was gone.

"You were very calm about that," commented Ginny with raised eyebrows and a curious look at her husband.

"I'm sick of being the bad guy," replied Harry.

"Me too," said Ginny.

"Yes, why should we struggle playing the bad guys when the part is already so fittingly filled by Malfoy?" continued Harry darkly. "We'll let her have her way for now and when he breaks her heart again which he undoubtedly will, we'll be the ones she comes running to."

"Harry," said Ginny a little shocked.

"It's the only way," he said looking at her and she saw the pity in his eyes now. "She has to make this mistake herself. If we don't let her she'll always want him and wonder what could have been. If we let her see for herself that he's no good then and only then she will believe it. Once it's all finished, she'll eventually get over him once and for all."

"You're right," agreed Ginny. "I just hope it's not too painful for her."

"Sometimes the pain of longing can be much greater than that of loss. All we can do is be there for her when the time comes," concluded Harry grimly.


	11. 10 - Nothing or Something?

**Never Let Go**

**Chapter 10: Nothing or Something?**

Draco was now in the business of selling potions that he brewed, to various shops in Diagon Alley, Knockturn Alley and Hogsmeade as well as to a few private clients. Seeing as the Potters now knew about Lily being back with Draco they no longer had to try to keep it a secret. Therefore Lily had started going with Draco while he made his deliveries while she looked for a job of her own. They were walking down a side street in Hogsmeade when they passed a couple displaying their affection quite publicly. They'd only walked a few steps when Draco wheeled around.

"Scorpius!" he said loudly.

"Oh, hello Father," said Scorpius attempting to free himself from the girl he was with. "Lily."

The girl had dark hair and black eyes, which Lily recognised immediately, she was hanging off Scorpius trying unsuccessfully to suppress a fit of giggles.

Scorpius smirked.

"Scorpius," repeated Draco before adding in a suspicious tone; "Why aren't you in London, at Ollivander's?"

"It's my day off," said Scorpius as the smirk vanished from his face.

Draco's eyes darted to the insufferable girl who was still giggling, about Merlin knows what, before returning his gaze to his son's face. He didn't look happy.

"Lily Potter," blurted the girl suddenly staring at Lily. Her eyes shot back and forth between Draco and Lily several times before a grin formed on her face.

"Hello Mira," returned Lily politely but by no means cheerfully.

"What are you doing?" Lily heard Draco hiss at Scorpius.

"So it was true then?" said Mira as her dark eyes glistened malevolently. "You and him are together?"

Lily merely glared at her. Of all the people that she had gone to Hogwarts with Mira Nott had been the one person Lily could not tolerate.

Mira was now howling with fresh laughter as she doubled over slapping her knee; "This is priceless!"

Lily took her eyes from the repulsive sight before her and looked at Scorpius who was now arguing quietly with his father. What was Scorpius playing at? Surely he couldn't have feelings for someone like Mira.

"Come on Lily," said Draco with forced calmness. "We'll be running behind if we stay any longer."

Without another word he snatched up Lily's hand in his, much to the amusement of Mira, and hastily led her away from the other two. He was fuming but Lily could not for the life of her figure out why. Sure, Lily considered Mira an obnoxious bully but why did Draco have such a problem with her?

He stormed blindly down the street, evidently still distracted by Scorpius and Mira, and strode straight past one of the shops they had to deliver to.

"Draco!" said Lily loudly grabbing his arm to stop him.

"What!" he yelled as he stopped and spun around to face her.

What on earth had gotten into him?

"You missed Albert's Apothecary," she said calmly.

"Oh," he said a little confused. "Right."

Then he started back the way they'd just come from.

"What's going on?" said Lily as she jogged to catch up with him.

"Nothing," he said quickly before disappearing into the shop.

"Didn't seem like nothing..." mumbled Lily before following him.


End file.
